Improvement is desired in the field of spinal braces and, in particular, spinal braces of the type having flexible materials incorporating rigid supports.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to an improved spinal orthosis. The orthosis includes a posterior support having a substantially rigid posterior splint, an anterior support having a substantially rigid anterior splint, and a pair of overlapping supports having substantially rigid splints are releasably attachable to the posterior support. The rigid splints of the overlapping supports overlap a portion of the posterior splint and the anterior splint when the orthosis is installed on a user.
In a preferred embodiment, the overlap supports are each provided by a laminate made of a flexible foam material, a rigid plastic strip, and a rigid plastic sheet material sandwiched between a pair of soft flexible sheet materials to yield a substantially rigid laminate material shaped to substantially conform to a side portion of a patient.
In another embodiment, the overlapping supports are each provided by a flexible body defining a pocket and a substantially rigid, preferably polymeric, shell received within the pocket and configured to substantially conform to a side portion of a patient.
In yet another aspect, the overlapping supports are each provided by a flexible body having an internal stay of a substantially rigid material, the stay being generally conformable during installation of the orthosis on a user so as to be able to substantially conform to the shape of the user. The internal stay is preferably made of a sheet of polyethylene material having a base portion and a bifurcated portion defining a plurality of fingers.